Kindergarten Art

Copying the style of Mondrian, the Kindergarten created paper quilts. Freehand, they drew horizontal and vertical lines to represent patchwork. Small marker “stitches” were drawn to “hold” the quilt squares together. Color was added to the quilt with payons, a water soluble paint/crayon. By cutting circles from squares and ovals from rectangles, animals were created and “tucked” into bed.  Mondrian became famous for his geometric art using only black horizontal and vertical lines, and primary colors red, yellow and blue. But, I venture to say none of his work was this adorable.

Third Grade Art

Before Christmas break the third graders created portraits of nutcrackers either as a close-up or pictured in an environment. Nutcrackers were drawn from observation with black Sharpies and colored with permanent markers. Drawing with materials that cannot be erased helps the children draw with care since the option of erasure has been removed.  They learn to think about how to turn unwanted lines into, as the book says, A Beautiful Oops! One of the most important parts of learning how to use your mistakes is to remember not to scribble it out. A big black blob is awfully hard to disguise.  Collage materials (jewels, glitter, shiny dot strips) were added if desired.   Although they weren’t finished in time to display before Christmas on their bulletin boards, look for them at the spring, April K-8, Art Fair.

Second Grade Art

The Second Graders have recently finished a Days of the Dead skeleton picture. The Days of the Dead is a Hispanic holiday celebrated on the 1^st and 2^nddays of November. It is a celebration of the life of deceased loved ones. Students  cut out skeletons, put them in an action pose, created clothing if needed, and placed them in an environment that shows some of the things that the deceased person loved (not a scary Halloween type of picture). The addition of glitter always makes this artwork very festive! We didn't finish these in time to display on the bulletin boards, but be looking forward to seeing these at the April Art Fair.

After discussing the difference between actual texture and visual texture we started oil pastel drawings of owls. We'll soon have a flock of feathery owls. Feather patterns were created mixing only three colors plus black and white. Radial feather patterns “radiate” from an eye center, long feathers hang in  repeated patterns down the wings, and small feather tufts dot the breast. These should be finished and displayed soon after Thanksgiving break.

1st Grade Art

First Graders created a simple black and white design on a two-inch square piece of paper by repeating the art elements f line and shape. By arranging nine copies of these designs they created a more complex design. What a surprise when new shapes are formed when the corners meet! Students choose two or three of their shapes/lines found in their designed square to create a border to frame their picture.

2nd Grade Art

Second Grade created a black and white pattern design. After completing their black and white designs, they added a four color border that provides a large contrast for their internal patterns. Upon completion of the border, they chose or cut a geometric or organic shape and colored it with the same colors as the border. Gluing the shape to the center of their designs provides unity for their pattern pictures

3rd Grade Art

The third graders have just finished a painting in the style of artist Laurel Burch. Laurel Burch (Dec.31, 1945 - Sept. 13, 2007) was a self-taught painter whose art conveys a sense of joy and happiness. Although suffering from a painful bone disease she tried to show the goodness of humankind through her creation of  patterned animals, using bold lines, curves and an explosion of color.She is perhaps best known for her highly stylized, cartoon-like cats. You can now find her art work adorning greeting cards, wall hangings, purses, scarves, socks, etc. Once familiar with her style, you'll be surprised how often you'll see it.

3rd Grade Art

Inspired by an online project by Annie Rodgers, Color Wheel Zebra, I had the third grade create color wheel zebras and giraffes. After a directed drawing (a draw with me technique that creates complex drawings by combining the art elements of straight and curved line, circles and dots) the students added color to their marker drawings using only the primary colors red, yellow, and blue liquid watercolor. After choosing their favorite of the two pictures, the zebra or the giraffe, they colored the spots or stripes with sharpie. The background of this picture was painted (colors were to blend creating secondary colors) to add contrast with the black and white animal.  Their second picture was finished in reverse with the animal in blended colors and the background in black and white patterns for contrast.  

Kindergarten Art

On the first day of art class Kindergartners learned they could draw everything in the whole world by just combining lines and shapes. On our second meeting they began a directed line drawing of a lion in an environment. Directed line drawings help the children with their listening and direction following skills. We discussed the parts of the lion’s body in terms of shapes and line types. They chose a position for their lion (sitting, lying down, or standing) then added an environment to make their picture tell a story. Their vocabulary is enriched as they create an overlapping environment for their lion(s) and add the horizon line last adding more depth.